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Malinya Mukta Keralam - Action Plan (2007)

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MALINYA MUKTA KERALAM

Action Plan

LOCAL SELF GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENT

GOVERNMENT OF KERALA

Ist November 2007

THE CONTEXT

Chapter I

4 / Malinya Mukta Keralam - Action Plan

Malinya Mukta Keralam - Action Plan / 5

I-1. INTRODUCTION

Sanitation is a critical component of human well being. For the fundamentalright to life to be realized in the fullest sense, sanitation is a mandatoryingredient. Basically sanitation is both an obligation and a right. As it is closelylinked to the way of life, it has to come from within the people; as it isabsolutely essential for a healthy life, people have to be facilitated to attainit. Sanitation is directly related to four out of eight Millennium DevelopmentGoals (MDGs)

The following elements define the package of practices which togetherconstitute sanitation.

(i) Safe disposal of human excreta

(ii) Solid waste management

(iii) Liquid waste management

(iv) Safe handling of drinking water

(v) Home sanitation and food hygiene

(vi) Personal hygiene

(vii) Community environmental sanitation

These are universally accepted as the seven components of sanitation. Theguiding principles for sanitation programme compiled by UNICEF highlightthe importance of hygiene, safe drinking water, waste management and latrinecoverage with emphasize on appropriate technology and gender sensitivesocial engineering. Over the years the State has taken various initiatives toimprove latrine coverage and waste management through intensive IECcampaign. However, these initiatives are yet to catch up with increasingpopulation, emerging challenges and evolving environment.


Guiding principles for sanitation programmes compiled by UNICEFFrom an epidemiological point of view, sanitation is the first barrier to many faecallytransmitted diseases, and its effectiveness improves when integrated with improvedwater supply and behaviour change. However, improvement in hygiene behavioursalone can result in disease reduction and can serve as a valid programme objective.Sanitation comprises both behaviours and facilities, which should be promotedtogether to maximize health and socio-economic benefits.From an implementation point of view, sanitation should; be treated as a priorityissue in its own right and not simply as an add-on to more attractive water supplyprogrammes. Sanitation requires its own resources and its own time frame to achieveoptimal results.For sanitation programmes to be effective, political will at all levels is necessary.Communities are more motivated to change when they know political will exists.Communities are bio-cultural systems. A sanitary environment is a successfulinteraction of the key parts of that system: the waste; the natural environment withits unique physical chemical and biological processes; local cultural beliefs andpractices; a sanitation technology; and the management practices applied to thetechnology.Sanitation programmes should be based upon generating demand, with all of itsimplications for education and participation rather than on provision of free orsubsidized infrastructure. Government should be responsible for the protection ofpublic health. Government sanitation policy should be one of creating demand forservices, facilitating and enhancing partnership among the private sector, NGOs(community) based organizations, and local authorities, and removing obstacles inthe paths of each of these and of households in the achievement of improved sanitation.Sanitation programmes should equally address the needs, preferences, and behavioursof children, women and men. Programmes should take a gender-sensitive approachbut, learning from the mistakes of other sectors, should guard against directingmessages only to women or placing the burden of improved sanitation primarilyupon women.Sanitation programmes should be approached incrementally, based on local beliefsand practices and working towards small lasting improvements that are sustainableto each step, rather than the wholesale introduction of new systems.User ownership of sanitation decisions is vital to sustainability. Empowerment isoften a necessary step towards achieving a sense of ownership and responsibility forsanitation improvements.Good methods of public health education and participation, especially socialmarketing, social mobilization, and promotion through schools and children exist topromote and sustain sanitation improvements.Sanitation services should be prioritized for high-risk, under-served groups incountries where universal coverage seems unlikely in the foreseeable future. Hygienepromotion should be targeted to all.Latrines are consumer products; their design and promotion should follow goodmarketing principles-including a range of options and designs attractive to consumersand therefore based upon consumer preferences, affordability, and suitability forlocal environmental conditions. Basic marketing research and participation in designwill likely be necessary to good programmes. Market forces are best understood bythe private sector.As in all other public health programmes aimed at preventing disease, the promotionof sanitation should be a continuous activity. This continuous promotion is necessaryto sustain past achievements and to ensure that future generations do not becomecomplacent as diseases decreases.

[Source: A Sanitation Handbook – UNICEF (1997)]


I-2. BACKGROUND

Kerala has been in the forefront of achieving sanitation both in the ruraland urban areas. The history of sanitation began in the country, as an integralpart of the freedom movement, focusing on liberation of scavengers. Keralaachieved the distinction of being the first State to fully do away with thedehumanizing practice of scavenging as the culmination of a people’smovement for basic human dignity.

From the late 50’s, Kerala led the nation in the provision of householdtoilets. In the initial days, through successful extension, single leach pit latrineswith water seal bowls known as ESP latrines were constructed on an extensivescale. Later under the Central Rural Sanitation Programme launched in 1986and People’s Plan launched in 1996, the coverage increased manifold reaching96% as per the latest estimate (NFHS - 3rd round: 2005), the highest in thecountry and far above the national average of 44.5%. It is significant to notethat the coverage is more or less the same in urban areas (98.3%) and ruralareas (94.9%), showing the equitable spread.

Out of the 999 Village Panchayats in the State 226 have won the NirmalGrama Puraskar along with six Block Panchayats. Now an additional 543Village Panchayats are ready to claim the honour along with seven out of the14 District Panchayats, which are in the final stage of achieving full coverage.

Also, historically, the State has been ahead of others in providing toiletfacilities to schools and anganwadis. Kerala is again the acknowledged leaderin the country in reduction of water-borne diseases and sanitation-relatedvector-borne diseases like malaria and filaria. These successes havecontributed to the high human development of the State. They have beenachieved mainly through literacy, public action, responsive Government and,in the last ten years, active Local Governments.

Recently, Kerala has started exploring the potential of Local Governmentsfor the management of solid and liquid wastes. Though there are technologicaland organizational hindrances, many of the urban centres and rural areashave realized the importance and initiated action towards improvedmanagement of solid waste.

Human resources flourished in a context of rich diverse and abundantnatural resources which helped attain a physical quality of life comparableto the best in the world. However the assimilative capacity of environmentin Kerala is fast declining due to inadequate attention to environment, ingeneral and sanitation, in particular. Thus sanitation has emerged as a criticalfactor in the sustainability of Kerala’s attainments.


Table I-1: Household sanitary latrines: Access to Sanitation facilities

Time Line 1991(1) 1995(2) 2001(3) 2005(4)

Rural households with toilets (%) 44 73.4 81.3 94.9

Urban households with toilets (%) 73 90.0 92.0 98.3

Source – (1) Census of India, 1991, (2) NSSO 1995 (3)

Census of India 2001 (4) NFHS 3rd round - 2005

The above figures reveal the extensive coverage of sanitary latrines in theState. They show that the coverage increased exponentially in the 90’s backedup by a well organized programme and commitment of funds.

Status of school sanitation is given below:

Item LP UP HS Total

Number of Govt. schools 2565 960 986 4511

Number of schools having toilets 1785 759 790 3334

Percentage of schools having toilets 69.59 79.06 80.12 73.90

I-3. CURRENT STATUSThe present status of different aspects of sanitation is summed up below:

I-3.1. Coverage of Sanitary LatrinesThe following table gives the progressive achievement in provision of

household sanitary latrines.

As per the latest estimate the remaining target, which also includesreplacement of existing latrines which are in extremely poor condition orunsafe, is as follows:

Household latrines : 3,14,000

School toilets : 2,220

Anganwadi toilets : 5,000

Table I-2: School Sanitation status


I-3.2. Solid Waste ManagementSolid waste is a mixture of organic and inorganic waste generated by

domestic or commercial activities. By source solid waste can be categorizedas per the table below

Table I-3: Sources of solid waste and rate of generation

Sl.No. Source % to total

1. Household Waste 49

2. Hostels, Marriage halls, Institutions, 17

3. Shops & Markets 16

4 Street sweepings 9

5. Construction 6

6 Slaughter house, Hospitals 3

By composition, solid waste in Kerala can be classified as follows

Table I-4: Composition of Solid Waste

Sl.No. Component % to total

1. Biodegradable 71-83

2. Paper 3.5-5

3. Plastic, rubber, glass, metal 5-9

4. Inerts, earth, domestic hazardous 4.9-11.5

In urban areas all the five Corporations have land for waste treatment butadequate facilities for collection, transport and treatment exist only inThiruvananthapuram, Thrissur and Kozhikode.

Out of the 53 Municipalities, only 17 have land and treatment facilities.33 more Municipalities have land but not enough treatment facilities. ThreeMunicipalities have neither.

Out of the 999 Village Panchayats, only 126 Village Panchayats have landfor waste treatment. Full-fledged treatment facilities are available only in


Type of waste Quantity (%)

Infectious waste 10%

Toxic waste 5%

General waste 85%

seven Village Panchayats. Partial facilities are available in 105 VillagePanchayats in the form of biogas plants and vermi compost units. 35 VillagePanchayats have recently set up resource recovery centres for collection ofrecyclable materials especially plastics.

In relation to population, Kerala has the highest number of hospitals. It isestimated that solid waste and liquid waste generation per hospital bed rangesfrom 1.5 to 2 kg and 200 – 350 litres respectively. About 85% waste generatedin hospitals is general waste and can be handled as other solid wastes. Theremaining 15% constitutes infectious and toxic wastes.

Table I-5: Composition of Hospital Waste

As of now the Indian Medical Association has set up a common treatmentfacility with a capacity to process 129 MT of bio medical waste per month ata single point in Palakkad catering to the needs of 1129 hospitals including70 Government hospitals, with a total bed strength of 32,918.

I-3.3. Liquid Waste Management

In urban areas of the State, sewerage facilities have extremely low coverageprobably the lowest in the country. Only 30% of ThiruvananthapuramCorporation and 5% of Kochi Corporation areas have proper undergroundsewerage facilities. The other municipal areas and rural areas do not havesuch facility.

The present system of clearing and removal of septic tank waste isunscientific. The waste is now collected by vacuum suction into tankers whichare then emptied into open spaces and even water bodies. This pollutes soiland water bodies. This dangerous system is operated by unscrupulous privateagencies.

The naturally undulating lie of the land and high rainfall patterns help influshing out liquid waste regularly. But high density of population, changedconsumer habits and human intervention in the natural drainage lines haveincreased stagnation of water leading to serious unhygienic situations. Theoutbreaks of chikun gunya in 2006 and 2007 can largely be attributed to thisrelatively recent phenomenon of stagnant water leading to prolific breeding


of mosquitoes. The situation is particularly bad near market places, slaughterhouses, animal farms and other areas of waste dumping.

I-4. EMERGING CHALLENGES

The emerging challenges in sanitation are listed below:

I-4.1. Coverage of Sanitary Latrines

After attaining high coverage the remaining target mostly consists oflandless people or those having very low extent of land. Hereconstruction of toilets poses a major challenge.

High water table areas particularly in the coastal region and in lowlying areas like Kuttanad pose a technological challenge.

A good number of the tribal people living in forest areas and forestfringes are yet to take to toilet use.

Many of the latrines constructed in the first generation were not ofappropriate technological design. Also, in the initial years, severallatrines overhanging water bodies were constructed. These needsupgradation.

With the increasing coverage of sanitary latrines there is a threat todrinking water wells which needs to be abated, failing which theachievements could turn out to produce harmful effects.

New concepts like baby-friendly, women-friendly and disabled-friendlytoilets are yet to be developed adequately and converted into practicalapplications.

Toilets in public places require further expansion in view of the floatingpopulation, especially tourists and migrant workers.

I-4.2. Solid Waste Management.

I-4.2.1. Generation

Per capita generation of waste in Local Governments in Kerala is higherthan those in other States due to the peculiar consumption pattern inthe State.

Segregation of waste at source of generation is still in early stages andis operational only in Thiruvananthapuram and KozhikodeCorporations, Quilandy Municipality Chunakkara Village Panchayatand a few other Local Governments

The practice of household level composting of waste which was verycommon earlier has now fallen into disuse and needs to be restarted.

Plastic waste and e-waste are on the increase.

Storage of waste at source is also limited to a few cities and towns.


I-4.2.2. Primary collection, street cleaning and disposal

Primary collection is limited to urban local governments. Even here asignificant portion is uncollected and spills over to streets and publicplaces.

The fleet of transportation vehicles now available is not sufficient forthe task in the case of many Local Governments. More than 70% of thevehicles have served more than their economic life of ten years. Evenin urban areas, about 25% of the vehicles are off road.

Most of the vehicles are open thereby spreading bad odour.

For street cleaning, norms and worker out turn have not beenstandardized for the State.

All temporary storage points are not cleared on a day to day basis.

Barring 176 Local Governments, others do not have land for solid wastemanagement. For final refuse and inert waste there is not even onesanitary land fill site.

I-4.2.3. Other issues

Social issues like dilution of civic consciousness, lack of awareness /willingness in respect of waste reduction and wide spread Not-In-My-Backyard (NIMBY) syndrome call for concerted response.

Managerial issues related to poor work culture, absence of strategicplanning of the collection, transportation, and disposal network andfinancial issues of raising resources to meet the capital and runningcosts also have to be addressed.

Human resource development issues necessitating capacity buildingat various levels

I-4.3. Liquid Waste Management

The major issues related to liquid waste are;

Local use of appropriate methods for disposing grey water and liquidwaste is very limited.

Drainage facilities near markets, hotels, Kalyana Mandapams and otherbulk generators of liquid waste are not adequate.

Indiscriminate construction of buildings and roads and filling up oftraditional drainage channels have resulted in high levels of waterstagnation and breeding of disease causing vectors.

In the absence of appropriate storm water drains, incidence of flooding,especially in the coastal urban areas has become frequent leading toincreased morbidity.


THE RESPONSE

Chapter II


II-1. INITIATIVES LAUNCHED

II-1.1. General Initiatives

II-1.1.1 People’s Plan

Sanitation which has emerged as an important agenda in the developmentdiscourse of the State needs to be pushed into the action phase so that theneeds and priorities of the people can be translated into concrete projectsand implemented in a time-bound manner. For this to happen, it is necessaryto generate a people’s movement involving citizens, elected leaders, officials,professionals and activists. Only Local Governments can bring together suchpeople for sustained local action. So their leadership is of prime importance.

People’s Plan in the XI Five Year Plan has been restructured to focus onspecific issues. Along with watershed management, sanitation has been giventhe highest priority. The following is the extract from the policy guidelinesrelated to sanitation.

Preparation of total sanitation plans has already started with effect from2nd October 2006. This process would be carried to the final stage. AllVillage Panchayats, Municipalities and Corporations should have asanitation plan consisting of the following elements:

Solid waste managementLiquid waste managementHousehold toilets - to ensure full coverage in 2007-08 itself.Environmental sanitation of homesteads and campusesSanitation of drinking water wellsToilets in public institutionsMarket waste management

Since sanitation is a mandatory function of Village Panchayats,Municipalities and Corporations, a comprehensive action plan is to beprepared. It should also include setting up of hygienic slaughter housesand opening of burial grounds and crematoria. The DPC may facilitatesynergy and partnership among Local Governments in order to optimizeinvestments in respect of different elements of sanitation.


II-1.1.2. Mission Approach

Institutionally, a Mission approach has been adopted. The Clean KeralaMission focuses primarily on urban areas and the Total Sanitation and HealthMission focuses on rural areas. The functioning of these two Missions hasbeen revitalized and a policy decision to merge them has been taken.

II-1.2. Specific Initiatives

The “Malinya Mukta Keralam” (Waste-free Kerala) Campaign waslaunched on Gandhi Jayanthi day in 2006. The important activities taken upunder the Campaign include: -

Four phases of intensive cleaning were conducted in the last one year – inOctober 2006, May 2007, July 2007 and October 2007, with the objective ofmobilizing the people for local action. These focused on cleaning of publicinstitutions like schools, hospitals and anganwadis, cleaning of colonies,cleaning of markets and other public places, removal of stagnant waterand awareness building among Self-Help Groups, students and electedlocal government representatives. It is estimated that three million peopleparticipated in the cleaning drive.

Extensive surveys of generation of waste from different sources wereconducted in all the 999 Village Panchayats and data compiled in 996Village Panchayats.

After compiling data, the Panchayats arranged visioning meetings of keystakeholders in which about 150 to 250 persons participated and preparedApproach Papers, all of which have been printed and disseminated.

Grama Sabhas were then held to discuss the Approach Paper on sanitationand adopt them after incorporating suggestions emanating from the GramaSabhas. It is estimated that 1.6 million people took part in these specialmeetings of Grama Sabhas focusing solely on sanitation.

Technical Support Groups (TSGs) have been formed in each of the fourteendistricts to guide the Local Governments to move on from the ApproachPaper to an Action Plan. Altogether 420 experts are functioning, with eachdistrict having a team of 20 to 35 members.

Health Promotion Teams (HPTs) have been set up in each of the VillagePanchayats drawing one male and one female volunteer from each ward,capable of working as barefoot sanitation experts.

Popular committees are being set up in every ward of the Village


Panchayats and also at the level of the Village Panchayat. It is estimatedthat nearly 40% of this process is over.

The whole campaign was backed by an elaborate capacity building effort;the important achievements of which were the following,

Three day training for 200 State level Resource Persons in September,2006.

Two rounds of two-day training for the District level Resource Teamsin February 2006 and July 2007.

Two-day training for 30,000 HPT members at the Block level.

A Technical Manual has been developed on Solid Waste Managementto educate local governments about technology options.

A Handbook has been published for assisting Local Governments indeveloping detailed Action Plans on sanitation.

A status study on the solid waste management situation has been donefocusing on urban areas.

As part of the Malinya Mukta Keralam Campaign, Government decidedto ban plastics of up to 50 microns in thickness. Later, based on a HighCourt direction the ban was made effective for all plastics up to 30 micronsin thickness. Elaborate consultations with all stakeholders and LocalGovernment leaders were held in September 2007 to make the ban effective.This has received all round support of the public and the media.

Special priority has been given to solid waste management and seweragein mega projects under the ADB assisted Kerala Sustainable UrbanDevelopment Project and the Government of India assisted JNNURM andUIDSSMT.

In the rural areas under Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) all the projectshave been restructured to include a solid waste management component atleast to the tune of 10%.

II-2. BEST PRACTICES

With the onset of decentralization several best practices have emerged,both in rural and urban areas. These have become models and providelearning experience for adaptation and replication in different localgovernments in the State. To illustrate, some of the best practices areencapsulated in the brief case studies outlined.


Case study No.1

Solid Waste Managementin Mangalapady Village Panchayat in Kasaragode District

- An example of multi-Village Panchayat Partnership

The Clean Kerala Mission assisted Mangalapady Village Panchayat inestablishing a waste processing plant using vermi composting and biomethanation. As the plant had sufficient capacity, adjoining Panchayatsof Kumbala and Mugral-puthur have joined with Mangalapady. ThesePanchayats send their waste to the processing plant in Mangalapadypaying Rs.0.70 per kg. as fee. In return they get 25% of the organicmanure generated by the waste supplied by them.

Another innovation is the contracting out of the management of thePlant to Kasaragode Social Service Society, a local NGO of repute whichtakes 30% of the profit generated by sale of organic manure.

This is an excellent example of what Village Panchayats can do in future– to come together to set up common facilities and share the costs as wellas the benefits.


Case study No.2

Decentralized Solid Waste Managementin Chunakkara Village Panchayat in Alappuzha District

– An example of Panchayat – NGO – Community Partnership

Chunakkara is a backward Village Panchayat of Alappuzha district with 14Wards covering 5411 households within an area of 17.32 kms2. Managementof Solid waste emerged as a major problem with waste piling up in all publicplaces inviting the protest of the public. The water bodies got polluted and thecanals became clogged. At this juncture, when the Village Panchayat wasdesperately searching for solutions, the Socio Economic Unit Foundation(SEUF), a leading NGO in the sanitation sector entered into a partnershipwith the Village Panchayat and decided to promote decentralized wastemanagement with focus on the household through a process of intensiveawareness building and community education.A trained resource group called the Programme Support Group (PSG) was setup. The expert members interacted with the community and convinced themabout the issues related to waste management. The PSG and the VillagePanchayat focused on localities within Wards. Each Ward was dividedinto 6 – 7 localities and from each locality two members were identified and aWard Level Committee was constituted, headed by the elected member fromthe ward. By drawing three members from each Ward Committee a PanchayatLevel Committee was also set up. These popular committees played an importantrole in mobilizing the public and converting their enthusiasm into action.A step by step process was adopted consisting of the following steps.

Detailed base line study and plan formulationGrassroots level mobilization and education of all stakeholdersDemand generation by the publicCommunity-based institution buildingCapacity building of the community with focus on womenInvolvement of school childrenDissemination of information on cost effective technologyRegular community based and Panchayat level monitoring

Now Chunakkara has become a model for decentralized waste management inrural areas. Out of the 5411 households, 4980 have started vermi compostingin the compound and the manure is used to feed the kitchen gardens whichhave been set up in all the houses. All schools have been motivated to segregate,store and process waste in situ. A community level vermi compost plant hasbeen set up to deal with market waste.Chunakkara Village Panchayat is proud of its achievements and presents amodel of Panchayat – Professional – People partnership.


Case study No.3Decentralized Solid Waste Management in Alappuzha Municipality

- an example of community based Solid Waste Managementin an urban situation

Alappuzha Municipality having 50 Wards and 32,203 households is spreadover 47 kms2. With only about 50% of the 65 to 75 tonnes of waste generatedevery day being transported to the dumping yard in the adjacent Panchayat,the remaining waste spilled over into the beautiful ancient Venice like canalsystem of the town converting it into one of the most insanitary towns in theState.

Here again the Municipal Council and Socio Economic Unit Foundation anNGO got into a partnership and initiated an Action Research Programmecalled “Women, Wellbeing, Work, Waste and Sanitation (4 W-S). After asmall pilot, six Wards were identified covering 5624 households. The baselinesurvey indicated that only 10% of the households segregate their waste; 58%of the households burned their waste, while 16% threw them into theirbackyards and 15% resorted to dumping them in public places. Thus thechallenge was quantified.

Technical Committees and Popular Committees were set up and the strategyof participatory social engineering was employed. The elements of theprogramme included the following:

Reduction at source

Segregation at source

Collection and sale of recyclables

Household level processing of organic waste

Substitution of plastic bags with cloth and paper bags

Community policing to prevent people from violating the code of cleansurroundings

In a short span of time, 3350 households started vermi-composting. In 35places common vermi-compost units were set up. Nearly 2000 families startedorganic farming in their compounds. Three Paper Bag units have been startedalong with two Plant Nurseries. Through public action 8 kms of canals and 12ponds have been cleaned and rejuvenated.

The Alappuzha experiment has shown that through social engineeringinvolving committed professionals and elected leaders, even in an urban setting,community behaviour can be changed for the better.


Case study No.4

Introduction of door to door collection in Kozhikode Corporation- An example of a socially beneficial outsourcing to a

Community Based Organization of poor women

Kozhikode city faced public uproar and even unrest over the overburdeneddumping site, as waste of all kinds reached the end point, totally unsegregated.With a city having 72855 households and about 12,000 commercialestablishments, the problem seemed insurmountable.

The City Corporation had the option of either increasing their staff orprivatizing door to door collection. But it chose the third way of opening abusiness opportunity for the poorest of the poor. It decided to outsource doorto door collection to the Kudumbashree network of women below poverty line.75 micro enterprise groups were set up with each group having 10 members.They were trained and provided a total subsidy of Rs.90 lakh and bank financeof Rs.187 lakh which was utilized for purchase of auto-rickshaws and otherequipment. To motivate the households two bins one white and the other greenwere given to each household for keeping the waste segregated. A user chargeranging from Rs.15 to 30 per household per month was fixed, which thehouseholds gladly gave as it went to poor persons.

Now 35% of the households and commercial establishments have been broughtunder this door-step collection system. Kozhikode town has become visiblycleaner and waste reaching the treatment site has increased by 25 to 30%.

The initiative of Kozhikode Corporation has proved that, even in a big city, theCorporation can ensure proper door to door collection, if a socially sensitiveapproach of enhancing the livelihood of the poor is followed.


Case study No.5Zero waste campaign at Kovalam

- An example of citizen demand leading to constructiveaction

Kovalam is an international tourist centre. As the place was gettingdegraded with all kinds of waste, the Tourism Department decided toset up an incinerator. This proposal was vociferously opposed by localpeople fearing the emissions of the incinerator. At this point of time‘Thanal’- a local NGO, intervened and mobilized the people for findingout local solutions so that an alternative to the incinerator could bedeveloped. After a preliminary study, discussions were held with differentlocal groups and it was decided to wholeheartedly ensure that garbagedisappeared from public places and to sustain this, create economicincentives for the waste generators as well as those involved in solvingthe problem. The main components of the project were: -

Biogas plant for biodegradable waste

A resource recovery centre for non-biodegradable discards

Material substitution programme promoting products made ofpaper, jute, cloth and coconut shell

Poison free farming

Water conservation

Community capacity building

The project now has to be expanded and sustained – but it is a goodmodel for channeling the benefits of waste management in a big touristcentre to the local people through local action.

II-3. ILLUSTRATIONS

The varied initiatives of Local Governments especially in the last few yearsinstil confidence about the capacity of Village Panchayats, Municipalitiesand Corporations to move on to scientific management of waste. Thephotographs given in the next pages illustrate this point.


Seggregated storage at source

Domestic Commercial

Primary collection

Street sweeping Transportation in closed compartmentalised trucks

Primary collection Primary transportation

Malinya Mukta Keralam - Action Plan /23


Solid Waste processing plant of Thiruvananthapuram Corporation

Vermi Compost Plant - North Paravur Municipality

Processing plantAttingal Municipality

Biogas Plant constructionTrichur Corporation

Biogas PlantChalakkudy Municipality

Solid waste treatment plantAjanoor Grama Panchayat



THE NEXT STEPS

Chapter III


III-1. ACTION PLAN

Malinya Mukta Keralam Campaign has succeeded in creating the rightenvironment for a Mission Mode Action Plan to achieve the goal of Clean Kerala.This is being launched on 1st November 2007 by Her Excellency the Presidentof India.

III-1.1. Overall Strategy

The Action plan would be informed by the well known strategy of 4 R’s –Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Recover. This strategy would lead to an interimscenario of barest minimum of waste generation that needs to be treated orrejected for land fill and ultimately to the concept of Zero Waste. ThroughIEC and provision of advice of technology, the message of waste minimizationand segregation would be spread to households and institutions. This wouldbe accompanied by maximizing recycling as well as recovery of energy andmanure using appropriate technological interventions.

To start with, the focus has been on awareness building. Now it wouldshift to persuasion and observation. Simultaneously the regulatory frameworkwould be strengthened through proper enforcement of existing laws andrestructuring the existing laws to give more teeth for enforcement.

As a general strategy for implementation the vast network ofKudumbashree which consists of 1,83,744 Neighbourhood Groups (NHGs)of women below poverty line covering 36,34,724 families which are networkedinto 16,915 Area Development Societies (ADS) of the level of Village,Municipal Corporation Ward and further federated into 1059 CommunityDevelopment Societies (CDS) in Village Panchayat, Municipality andCorporation would be utilized for outreach and feedback. Also businessopportunities for poor women would be developed wherever waste collectionand treatment are required.


III-1.2. Operational Strategy

The different elements of the operational strategy are outlined below:

III-1.2.1. Coverage of Sanitary latrines

Identifying and upgrading unsafe latrines.

Introducing appropriate technologies for coastal and water-loggedareas.

Designing, field testing and propagating child-friendly, gender-friendlyand disabled-friendly toilets.

Moving on to individual latrines with common pit in congested areas.

III-1.2.2 Solid Waste Management

(i) Management Plan for Household Waste

House to house campaign for segregation at source

Providing separate bins for segregated storage and collection inCorporations, Municipalities and urbanized Panchayats.

Setting up of household level / community based vermi-compost units/ bio gas plants, based on informed choice of technology.

Networking with Community Based Organizations (CBOs) forcollection and disposal of recyclables.

Promoting disposal of domestic hazardous waste through a specialcollection system leading to secured burials / sanitary land fills createdat regional/district levels.

(ii) Management Plan for disposal of Waste from Septic Tanks

Putting in place a regulatory regime with strict licensing norms.

Strengthening institutional capacity of Local Governments

Introducing appropriate technology for final disposal

(iii) Management Plan for Wastes from Community Halls

Promoting segregated collection of waste at source by the owners

Discouraging the use of disposable cups and plates

Setting up of bio gas plants/ vermi compost units within the compound

Collecting tipping fee for non-degradable waste at Resource RecoveryCentres and landfills


(iv) Management Plan for Waste from Institutions

a) Public officesBanning use of plastic carry bags / cups / flex boards


Promoting the use of steel tumblers and plates for serving refreshments

Ensuring that the waste paper generated in the offices is properlymanaged.

Installing bio gas plants in office complexes and staff quarters

Providing sufficient number of gender friendly and disabled friendlytoilets

Establishing Waste Management Committees

b) Educational institutionsBanning use of plastic carry bags / cups / flex boardsDiscouraging the use of disposable cups and platesPromoting the use of steel tumblers and plates for serving refreshmentsEnsuring that the waste paper generated is properly managed.Installing waste paper bins in the class roomsInstalling common waste bins for collection of bio degradable wasteInstalling bio gas plants / vermi-compost unitsEstablishing school gardens/vegetable gardens to gainfully utilize thevermi compost/ bio gas slurryTraining students in making paper bags, cloth bags as part of workexperience.Including waste management in school curriculumUtilizing school Health Clubs effectively for imparting health, hygieneand sanitation education to the students.Providing sufficient number of gender friendly /child friendly toilets

(v) Management Plan for Hospital WasteBanning use of plastic carry bags


Promoting use of steel tumblers and plates while serving food incanteens

Providing coloured bins for segregated collection of bio medical wastes


Installing bio gas plants

Installing common facilities for disposal of bio medical waste.

Providing sufficient number of gender friendly toilets

Installing effluent treatment plants in Medical Colleges (Govt andprivate), District Hospitals and other big hospitals

Installing biogas plants in Ayurvedic Centres

(vi) Management Plan for Waste from Hotels and Catering Centres

Discouraging use of plastic for wrapping food.

Promoting bio gas plants.

Conducting regular inspection by health staff

Encouraging use of water harvesting, water saving and water recyclingdevices

Training for management and staff

(vii) Management Plan for Market Waste

Organising market level waste management committee comprising oftraders , elected representatives and officials

Ensuring segregated collection of waste at market level utilizing servicesof CBOs on payment basis.

Setting up of community biogas plants/ vermi / windrow compostunits

Making arrangements for sending recyclables to Resource RecoveryCentres to be set up with community participation

(viii) Management Plan for Slaughter Houses and Chicken Stalls

Erecting and managing scientific slaughter houses with proper wastemanagement facilities.

Not permitting chicken stalls to function without proper wastemanagement facility.

Taking punitive action for polluting water bodies and public placeswith chicken stall waste.

Issuing clear guidelines for keeping slaughter houses and vendingplaces clean.

(ix) Management Plan for Factories and IndustriesEnforcing pollution control norms


(x) Management Plan for Streets

Ensuring periodic sweeping of streets

Providing waste bins for segregated collection of waste, if necessary

Providing for regular clearing of bins

Banning littering

Imposing fine/penalty for violation

(xi) Management Plan for Wastes from Public places

Intensifying IEC campaign against littering public places

Installing attractive bins for segregated collection.

Imposing spot fine / penalty on violators utilizing the service of GreenPolice

Providing sufficient gender friendly and disabled friendly pay anduse public toilets

Ensuring timely removal of waste by Local Governments

(xii)Management Plan for Waste from Tourist Centres

Establishing green check posts at tourist centres to collect plastic bagsfrom tourists and substituting with cloth / paper bags for plastic at anominal price. Such check posts may be run by volunteers


Providing sufficient gender friendly and disabled friendly toilets

Installing multilingual boards highlighting the need for conserving thepristine purity of nature.

Installing vermi compost units where ever necessary

(xiii) Management Plan for Pilgrim Centres

Establishing Green check posts at pilgrim centres like Sabarimala,Guruvayur, Malayattur, Bimapalli etc. to collect plastic bags frompilgrims and substituting plastic with cloth / paper bags at a nominalprice. Such check posts can be set up by the religious institutionconcerned.


Providing sufficient gender-friendly and disabled friendly toilets

Installing multilingual boards highlighting the need to keep the placesacred and clean

Installing bio gas plants.


(xiv) Management Plan for Beaches

Ensuring periodic cleaning of beeches

Launching locally specific IEC campaign for fishermen and women

Providing facilities for storage, collection and removal of waste

Banning littering

Imposing penalty on violators

(xv) Management Plan for Water Bodies

Ensuring that water bodies are clean of wastes

Launching customized IEC

Imposing penalty on violators

Providing facilities for storage, collection and removal of waste fromresidents on embankments

Ensuring periodic desilting and cleaning

(xvi) Effective enforcement of plastic ban

Launching a multi-media IEC campaign at state /district and locallevels.

Ensuring cooperation of shop keepers in the use of alternative productssuch as paper bags, cloth bags, jute etc.

Supporting small scale units producing alternative products throughself employment schemes and providing forward and backwardlinkages for such units.

Strict enforcement of legal provisions.

III-1.2.3. Liquid Waste Management

Promoting no cost technologies like soak-pits for household sullagedisposal.

Preparing drainage maps and plans segregating storm water drainageand waste water drainage.

Expanding coverage of sewerage in thickly populated areas adaptingthe beneficiary participation model developed by AlanthurMunicipality in Tamilnadu.


III-1.3. Elements of the Action Plan

III-1.3.1 Organisational Reform

i. Clean Kerala Mission and Total Sanitation Mission would be integratedinto a single Mission to guide the detailed formulation andimplementation of the Action Plan. The new Mission would come intobeing by 1st January, 2008. The restructured Mission would develop anetwork of professional agencies involved in sanitation includingCommunity Medicine Department of Medical Colleges, RegionalResearch Laboratory, National Rural Health Mission, Communicationand Capacity Development Unit, Jalanidhi, Socio Economic UnitFoundation, Integrated Rural Technology Centre, Agency for Non-conventional Energy and Rural Technology, Costford, CochinUniversity of Science and Technology, Centre for Earth Science Studies,Centre for Water Resources Development and Management, PollutionControl Board, Khadi & Village Industries Board, State Energy Mission,Kerala Water Authority and voluntary organizations.

ii. A Communication and Capacity Development Unit (CCDU) forsanitation would be set up exclusively for sanitation within the Missionto spearhead Information, Education and Communication (IEC)activities.

III-1.3.2 Participatory PlanningBased on the needs identified by the survey conducted in Local

Governments and the suggestions emanating from the Grama Sabhas, LocalGovernments would initiate participatory preparation of Detailed ProjectReports (DPRs) adopting the following steps.

(i) Setting up of Working GroupsWorking Groups would be set up by each Local Government exclusively

for sanitation. It will be headed by the Chairperson of the Standing Committeein charge of Health and would have as its members, officials concerned withthe sector, experts from within and outside Government, social activists,representatives of Self Help Groups and other stakeholders. The WorkingGroup would perform the following tasks:

a) Revisit the data collected and firm them up.

b) Hold consultations with stakeholders.

c) Review the present methods for solid and liquid waste management.

d) Evaluate different managerial and technology options.

e) Present draft proposals to the Local Government.


(ii) Expert Consultation

Using the Working Group Reports, elected Local Governments wouldconsult experts identified at the district level and take a decision on therecommendations of the Working Group.

(iii) Preparation of Detailed Project Report

Based on the decision of the Local Government the Working Group wouldprepare Detailed Project Report (DPR) covering the following elements.

Universal coverage of household latrines.

Universal coverage of latrines in public institutions.

Different aspects of solid waste management – waste reduction,segregation and storage at the point of generation, collection,transportation and final processing and disposal.

Different aspects of liquid waste management – soak pits, drainage forliquid waste, drainage for storm water and sewerage in urbanized areas.

Setting up of modern slaughter houses in a phased manner

Setting up of burial grounds/crematoria as per requirements.

(iv) Vetting of DPR

The District Planning Committees (DPC) would set up Technical AdvisoryGroups (TAG) for sanitation which would vet the projects prepared by LocalGovernments.

(y) Approval of Projects

The District Planning Committees would approve the projects.

(vi) Time frame

The time frame for the planning process would be as follows:

1) Training of Working Groups – by 30th November 2007.

2) Submission of Working Group Reports – by 31st December 2007

3) Decision by Local Governments – by 31st January 2008.

4) Submission of DPR – by 28th February 2008

5) Approval by DPC – by 31st March 2008

III-1.3.3. Capacity Building

Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA) would provide thenecessary training for the experts as well as members of the Working Group.


Key elected representatives of Local Governments would also be trained fortaking the appropriate decisions. The State Institute of Rural Development(SIRD) would be associated in the capacity building programme.

The trainings would be conducted in a decentralized manner at the Districtand Block levels. The programmes would be held in phases to cover thedifferent actors in the planning process starting from the Working Group upto the District Planning Committees. A multi-media campaign would belaunched on 1st January 2008 to give momentum to the campaign for Wastefree Kerala.

III-1.3.4. Regulatory framework

A strong regulatory frame-work would be put in place by amending theKerala Municipality Act and the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act along with relevantRules. The amendments would focus on the following:

Role and responsibilities of households in segregating wastes and inpromoting processing within compounds.

Responsibilities of establishments generating huge quantities of waste instoring, processing and treatment of waste.

Responsibilities of Village Panchayats, Municipalities and Corporationsin storage, collection, transportation, treatment and disposal of waste.

Guidelines for collection, transportation and treatment and processing ofwaste.

Guidelines for identifying location of treatment facilities and disposal sites.

Penalties for violators with special reference to littering of public places,obstruction of natural and artificial drainage, pollution of water bodiesand soil and negligence leading to vector breeding.

The Amendments would be in place by 30th June 2008

III-1.3.5. Monitoring

An independent machinery for monitoring performance as well assustainability of achievements would be set up by 31st May 2008. Thismechanism would, among other things use a methodology of Citizen ScoreCard as adapted for Kerala to evaluate citizen satisfaction. In additionmonitoring would focus on the environmental and public health outcomes.

III-2. RESOURCES

The Action Plan would require considerable resources. While approvedprojects with secured funding are ready for implementation the other projectswould be costed in detail as and when DPRs are prepared.


Table III-1: Projects approved under KSUDP(Rs in crore)

Sector Tvpm Kollam Kochi Trichur Kozd Total

Sewerage and Sanitation 77.25 52.70 92.79 0.73 56.84 280.33

Storm Water Drainage 6.30 8.03 13.76 27.41 28.14 83.64

Solid Waste Management — 6.90 12.96 5.74 7.34 32.94

Table III-2: Projects approved under JNNURM( Rs. in crore)

Sector Name of Local Body Approved cost

Solid Waste Management Kochi 88.00

Sewerage Thiruvananthapuram 215.41

Drainage Kochi 9.78

Table III-3: Projects approved under UIDSSMT( Rs. in crore)

Sector Name of town Approved cost

Solid Waste Management Neyyattinkara 3.49

-do- Attingal 3.06

-do- Punalur 4.82

-do- Pathanamthitta 3.90

-do- Changanassery 3.80

-do- Perinthalmanna 5.22

Sewerage Chalakkudy 55.00

The following projects have already been approved for the urban areas.


These projects worth Rs. 811.59 crore are to be started immediately forwhich funding has been secured. In addition all urban local Governmentshave been given directions to give first priority to sanitation while preparingnew proposals for funding from JNNURM.

The Total Sanitation Campaign project has been restructured and nowapproved by Government of India for Rs.209 crore which is Rs.90 crore overthe earlier project approved by Government of India. 10% of the revisedproject is to be spent on Solid Waste Management, Government of India hasbeen requested to enhance this to 25% in tune with the priorities of the State.

For the Action Plans, the Development Fund and Maintenance Fundprovided to Local Governments would be put to optimum use. Funds fromNational Rural Health Mission would be converged particularly for IEC.Micro enterprises in the field of sanitation would be set up through theKudumbashree network for which funds from Swarna Jayanti GrameenSwarozgar Yojana (SGSY) and Swarna Jayanthi Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY)would be pooled with the budgetary allocations of Kudumbashree.

Now that National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) has beenuniversalized the funds would be used in rural areas for improving drainagewith the objective of scientific storm water/liquid waste management andrenovation and upgradation of traditional water sources. Anti-povertyprogrammes of Hariyali and Indira Awas Yojana (IAY) can also be dovetailedto augment resources.

For technical support and capacity building, budgetary support would beprovided by the State Government. To eke out these public resources, largewaste generators would be asked to make their own arrangements for wastedisposal and treatment or pay the Local Government for the services. Also,resources for IEC and for keeping public places clean would be mobilizedthrough sponsorships and voluntary donations. The biggest resource isexpected to be the local people themselves who could contribute in cash,kind and labour for a common cause, particularly local organizations andclubs would be mobilized for sanitation activities in public places along withthe vast network of NHGs of women.

III-3. OUTPUTS

In concrete terms the Action Plan would focus on the following outputsand milestones.


Table III-4: Outputs/Milestones and time frame

Outputs / Milestones

a) Total coverage of householdsanitary latrines

b) Total coverage of latrines inpublic institutions likeAnganwadis, Schools andHospitals

c) Putting in place household andinstitutional waste treatmentsystems

d) Segregation of household andinstitutional waste

e) Developing decentralizedcommon treatment facilities

f) Development of commonsanitary land-fill sites for inertwaste as required

g) Making Colonies clean and neat

h) Introducing litter-free publicplaces

i) Plan for liquid wastemanagement

j) Extending sewerage facilities

Time frame

Nine months

One year

1/3rd of the households and

institutions to be covered in eachof the next three years.

Within one year

1/3rd of the local governments to

achieve this in each of the nextthree years.

During the Eleventh Five YearPlan period.

In two years

All major town centres, pilgrim/tourist centres, markets, streetand public institutions to becovered in three years.

A perspective plan to be preparedin two years

Present coverage to be tripled infive years

To incentivise the achievement of these milestones ahead of time, awardswould be given to Local Governments based on transparent indicators. Forthe first set of awards the following qualifications have been prescribed tobe achieved by 31st May 2008.


1. Achievement of total coverage of individual household latrines, andcoverage of schools, anganwadis and hospital toilets.

2. Cleaning of the premises of all public offices and institutions.

3. Scoring of at least 50% of the eligible marks in respect of the followingitems.

i. Clean market places

ii. Clean schools / hospitals / anganwadis

iii. Litter free major streets.

iv. Segregation and in situ treatment of household waste

v. Clean Colonies

vi. Enforcement of ban on plastics

4. Preparation of the following detailed plans

i. Plan for Solid Waste Management

ii. Plan for Drainage

iii. Plan for Clean Colonies

III-4. OUTCOME

At the end of the XI Five Year Plan it is intended to realize the goal ofClean Kerala to a substantial extent. It is expected to be reflected in betterquality of life due to improved health and general wellbeing, economic gains,better aesthetic surroundings and overall environmental upgradation.

IELRC.ORG - Malinya Mukta Keralam - Action Plan (2007)

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